Ofcom

General

• Provide expert guidance to policy, supervision and enforcement colleagues in the wider Online Safety Group and across Ofcom during policy development processes and industry engagement activities, on the technical aspects of online safety.
• Analyse the technical feasibility of regulatory proposals and assess their potential impact on online platforms, users and other stakeholders.
• Provide technical input to support assessments of platform systems and processes against regulatory requirements.
• Lead the design and delivery of complex research projects, often in partnership with specialist third parties and other policy/functional specialists (e.g. strategists, economists, lawyers, data scientists etc.), ranging from desk-based reviews to the delivery of practical experimental and technical demonstration projects.
• Manage and support projects focussed on: examining in detail aspects of the systems, platforms and standards which are of concern to Ofcom; creating an evidence base for the application of a technology or combination of initiatives to tackle particular challenges relating to online safety, including informing assessments against regulatory expectations; identifying and analysing new technologies that present significant opportunities in areas where existing regulation may be incomplete; and supporting the development of new regulatory mechanisms.
• Produce analytical outputs to support senior management decision-making and internal technical capability building across the Online Safety Technology team and the wider Online Safety Group.
• Monitor developments in the tech industry, including innovations in AI, machine learning, encryption, and data management, to anticipate and advise on future regulatory challenges.
• Proactively manage internal relationships to help define business-relevant research programmes and maximise the application of findings, including by effectively communicating with non-technical audiences.
• Strengthen external relationships with industry, academia, and public bodies to jointly define and deliver research programmes successfully.
• Represent Ofcom and advocate for the role of technology across a range of external industry and policy working groups, in order to shape the technology debate, the regulatory landscape and inform national policy.

Senior Technologist